Quote of the Day

Milton Bradley, commenting on how so many experts are picking the Cubs to win the NL Central:

“They should. I’m here. I’m a winner. When I went to the Dodgers, after they hadn’t been to the postseason since ’88, they went to the postseason. I went to the A’s in 2006. We weren’t supposed to do anything, and we went to the ALCS. I was with San Diego. We were one win away from making the postseason, and I got hurt. Everywhere I go, people win. It’s not a surprise.”

Your mileage may vary, but I love it when guys spout off like this. Maybe it’s not as polite as those “take it one game at a time” quotes, but doggone it, it’s more interesting.

Not exactly the “straw that stirs the drink” but a priceless quote, nonetheless. Almost as good as Shaq saying a few years ago that “I’ve won everywhere I played, except college and the pros.”

Also, he’s wrong, as the Dodgers went to the postseason in 1995 and 1996, though they got swept both times. In 2004, with Milton “Winner” Bradley, they lost 3-1 to the Cards, their one win coming in a game in which the Winner went 0-for-3 with a walk and a GIDP. So, yeah, big difference.

And, after losing 91 games in 2005, the Dodgers immediately returned to the playoffs in 1996, having gotten rid of Winner Bradley.

Those 2006 Oaklands who weren’t expected to do anything? They’d won 91 and 88 games the previous two seasons, finishing 2nd each time, and they replaced Scott Hatterberg with Frank Thomas, so to say that they weren’t supposed to do anything is more than a little naive.

Also, in SD, sure, he hit well when he played, but it was his own fault that he got hurt at the end of the year, tearing up his ankle while being restrained from attacking an umpire.

Chris—don’t read too much into my praise of Bradley here. I said I find it more interesting. I also find political scandals and—truth be told—Curt Schilling interesting.

My beef with Schilling is a bit different than a lot of people’s. It’s not a reflexive anti-Curt thing. It’s just that I find a little goes a long way, and you rarely get a little of him. I’m certain that if Bradley had an open mike like Schilling does, I’d grow pretty weary of him too.

As silly as the quotation looks, I think it’s pretty hard to deny that Bradley was a difference maker for that 04 Dodgers team, 8-year drought or 16-year drought aside. And while Bradley *has* blamed himself for that injury with San Diego, I’m pretty sure everyone else who was there agrees that the horribly unprofessional umpire who baited him was absolutely at fault for the incident.